GAMEDAY CENTRAL
No. 18 Embry-Riddle (21-9) vs. Mobile (24-13)
DATE: Saturday, Nov. 23, 2013
CITY: Daytona Beach, Fla.
SITE:Â ICI Center
MATCH TIME: 2Â p.m.
LIVE STATS: Stretch Internet
LIVE AUDIO:Â Stretch Internet
LIVE VIDEO:Â Stretch Internet
TWITTER:Â @ERAUVolleyball | @MobileRams | @NAIA_News
HASHTAGS:Â #GoERAU | #BeatMobile | #NAIAVolleyball
ABOUT EMBRY-RIDDLE
The Blue and Gold are ranked 18th in the final regular season coaches' poll, holding steady from last week's poll. The Eagles reached the NAIA National Tournament Final Site for the third consecutive season in 2012. Head Coach Josylnn Gallop is the winningest coach in program history, owning a 222-81 career record in this, her ninth season at the helm of the Eagles.
ABOUT MOBILE
Mobile hails from Mobile, Ala. and is a member of the Southern States Athletic Conference. John Campbell is in his ninth season at the helm of the Mobile program and owns a 221-101 record with the Lady Rams. In 2012, UM finished 24-13 overall and 7-7 in league action, finishing eighth in the regular season conference standings. The Lady Rams went 0-2 in the SSAC Tournament, dropping 3-0 decisions to Lee and Emmanuel.
The Lady Rams have racked up 274 service aces, fourth-most in the NAIA, led by Nicole Armstrong (65, 11th) and Leah Lovelace (64, 13th). Mobile is also ranked 30th in total assists (1544) and 31st in total kills (1675). Reagin Boggs is listed 23rd in the country with an average of 10.26 assists/set while Bailey Nations is 44th with 421 kills and Disah Kolassiba is 50th with 115 total blocks.
STREAKING IN THE POLLS
When the NAIA released the final coaches' poll of the 2013 regular season on Sunday, the Eagles found themselves at No. 18 in the rankings, holding steady from the previous week. Embry-Riddle spent the entire 2011 season and all but one week in 2012 ranked in the top 10, a total of 25 weeks, including a trio of weeks at No. 2 (Sept. 20 - Oct. 4, 2011). In total, the Eagles have been ranked in the Top 25 for 49 consecutive polls, the fifth-longest active streak in the NAIA.
BLUE AND GOLD AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
The Eagles have shown in 2013 that they are among the best in the NAIA in four of the most important facets of the game: assists, kills, hitting percentage and digs. Embry-Riddle is currently averaging 12.21 assists/set, the 20th-best average in the country. With 13.17 kills/set, ERAU ranks 21st in the NAIA. Embry-Riddle is hitting .223 as a team, good for 37th in the country. Ranking 39th in the nation, the Eagles have picked up 16.89 digs/set.
GRAY DOMINANT DEFENSIVELY
Junior libero
Hannah Gray has proven that she is one of the best defensive players in the country with her stellar play this season. Gray, this year's Sun Conference Libero of the Year, is currently averaging 6.59 digs/set, the second-highest average in the nation. Her 685 digs, which are a new school record for digs in a season, are also the 18th-highest total in the NAIA.
FERREIRA DOING IT ALL
Sophomore setter
Tamires Ferreira is out to prove that setters can do more than just rack up assists. She has done a great job circulating the ball while running the 5-1 offense for the Eagles, recording 1024 assists for an average of 10.14 assists/set, which ranks her 26th in the nation in that category. But she has also collected a team-leading 55 service aces, good for 32nd in the NAIA, in addition to picking up 272 digs, second-best on the team. Ferreira has also proven to be an offensive threat herself, putting down 161 kills, including a match-high 16 kills at Flagler on Sept. 11. The Barbacena, Brazil native also has 52 blocks (three solo) on the season, ranking third on the Eagle squad.
MILESTONE ACHIEVEMENTS
A pair of Eagles have broken program records during the 2013 season.
Emily Jacobson has racked up 103 blocks this season, increasing her career total to 368, which surpassed Susan Delahanty's 361 program record number. Jacobson has averaged 92 blocks per season since stepping on ERAU's campus.
Hannah Gray has been picking up digs at an incredible rate all season long, ranking second in the NAIA in digs/set with an average of 6.59, which is good enough to be a new school record. The old record for digs/set in a season was 5.47 set by Nina Kontrec in 2011. Gray's career digs/set average has moved up to 5.78, which surpasses Kontrec's career record of 5.43 as well. Gray broke a school record in August when she collected 44 digs in a match against Madonna, breaking the record for digs in a single match. Then in November, Gray surpassed Nina Kontrec's single-season digs record, which was 673 set in 2010. Gray currently has 685 digs this season and 1289 digs in her two-year career.
REPLACING THE BEST CLASS IN EAGLE HISTORY
Following the 2012 season, Gallop lost four seniors that were arguably the best class in program history.
Jordan Holcomb and
Taylor Martin (now volunteer assistant coaches for the Eagles) rank No. 3 and No. 4 respectively on the all-time kills list (1,000-Kill Club), while
Adriana Vazquez shattered the career assist mark (5,035) while collecting four straight Sun Conference Setter of the Year honors (1,000-Assist Club). Glorida Kemp also graduated after compiling 672 kills, a .276 attack percentage and 237 blocks in her four-year career.
PRESEASON FAVORITES
The Sun Conference coaches selected the Eagles to top the league's preseason poll, released in August. Embry-Riddle garnered six first-place votes and 48 total points to claim the No. 1 spot in the poll, while St. Thomas came in second with two first-place votes and 43 total points.
19 SEASONS OF EAGLE VOLLEYBALL
The 2013 season marks the 19th edition of Eagle volleyball. Embry-Riddle is 426-235 all-time, capturing five regular season titles, four conference tournament titles and making three appearances at the NAIA National Championship.
